Parenthood
by Thalia Grace DaughterofZeus13
Summary: <html><head></head>Takes place a few years after "Angel". Max and Fang are back together, and now they're facing one of their hardest challenges yet: parenthood.</html>
1. Chapter 1

**I came up with this idea while working on a different story. I don't know how long it will be, but I hope you like it. I'm going to have fun writing it. I had to change a couple of things from the series to make it work. Please don't be mad at me.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. **

**Chapter 1**

**Max's pov**

Today was the day. Our day. My family's day. My brand new family, and my old family, too.

I suppose I should explain. I'll start from the beginning.

The last few years of our lives have been half-way calm. At least, for our usual standards. We've only been attacked about…let me think…50-ish times? Oh, I don't know. Does it matter?

So here's what happened. About a year after Angel went missing **(A/N: at the end of **_**"Angel"**_**)**, Fang's group and the Flock found her and saved her. Shortly afterward, Fang rejoined the Flock. At the same time, Dylan left. Haven't seen him since. Don't miss him much.

Of course, Fang and I got back together. Not too long afterward, we got married. Well…technically we're not old enough to get married, so it's not legally binding…but it's good enough for us. We're happy.

But this is one of the best moments. Today, Fang and I are parents.

I can still remember when I told Fang he was going to be a dad. I've never seen him so…emotional. In a good way.

Yesterday I went to the hospital. My mom, and a few doctors she trusted from CSM, helped me give birth. It had to be doctors we trusted because of the wings.

I gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. We named the boy Ari, after my dead half brother. We didn't have a name for the girl, but in the end we settled on Star. No, it has nothing to do with the girl from Fang's old group, we just liked it.

Today my mom is taking me, Fang, Ari, and Star home. Home these days is still our house in Colorado. The Flock hasn't seen Ari and Star yet. I hear they're excited.

I sat in the back of my mom's car, next to the two infant car seats. Fang was in the passenger seat, and mom was driving (duh).

"You ok, Max?" Fang asked for the hundredth time.

"Yes!" I sighed, annoyed. "Stop asking me that, I'm just tired."

I looked at Ari and Star, both asleep with their tiny wings tucked behind them. Yeah, they were born with wings. Just like us.

After another five minutes, my mom said, "We're home." and parked the car.

Fang and I both got out of the car. Fang picked up Ari, I picked up Star, and mom got our stuff out of the back for us.

"They're back!" I heard somebody yell from inside the house. "Guys, they're back! They've got the twins with them!"

"Come on, Nudge, did you expect them to show up without their children?" Another voice said.

I grinned at Fang and hurried up to the house, holding Star close.

When I got inside, I found Iggy and Ella (who were now dating), Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, and Jeb waiting for me. Yeah, Jeb lived with us too. It wasn't my idea, but I was out-voted.

Fang came up behind me, still holding Ari.

"Max! Fang! You're back! Oh, they're so cute! What names did you finally decide on? Max are you feeling alright-" Nudge said quickly before Gazzy put a hand over her mouth.

I grinned and walked over so they could see my baby. "This is our daughter, Star." I said. Fang followed me. "And this is our son, Ari." My eyes flickered to Jeb when I said Ari's name. He smiled, partly happy and partly sad. I knew how he felt.

"Star and Ari." Nudge repeated happily.

Star squirmed in my arms and opened her eyes. She started to cry. "Shhh, honey, shhh." I said soothingly. "I'm here." I turned so she was facing the others. "This is your family, Star."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**A few hours later**

I walked downstairs and nearly ran into Angel. "Whoa, slow down, Ang." I said.

"Oh, hi, Max. Uh…we didn't realize you were awake." She said quickly.

I had taken a long nap, which I didn't usual do, but I was really tired. I mean, I had twins yesterday; I have that right, don't I?

"How are Star and Ari?" I asked.

"Great! Wonderful…let's go upstairs!" she tried to pull me up the stairs, but I was stronger.

"Why?" I asked, slightly nervous.

"Nothing's wrong or anything." Angel said quickly. "We just-"

That's when I heard Fang yell, "Iggy, you idiot!" and the sound of my babies crying, followed by a loud crashing sound.

"Oh no." I muttered and ran downstairs as fast as I could. The noise was coming from the kitchen. I raced over, and stopped dead in the doorway. "What happened?"

There was food _everywhere_. On the walls and the floor and the tables…and everybody who was in the room. This was everybody except for Angel. Including Ari and Star. Who were also covered in food. This was why they were crying.

"What did you do?" I yelled as I made my way across the room to comfort them, which Fang had already started to do.

"We were trying to cook a nice big dinner to surprise you." Ella said quietly.

"And there was some arguing…which turned into food being thrown all over the place…which turned into Iggy accidentally getting some of that food on Ari and Star." My mom finished.

I scoped up Ari in my arms. He slowly started to calm down. He was covered in food, however. "Is this banana?" I asked.

"Yeah." Mom said.

"Guys!" I groaned.

"Max, we should probably clean them up." Fang said to me. He was holding Star. "Come on." I followed him out of the kitchen.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

About half an hour later, Ari and Star were clean and asleep in the nursery we had set up for them, in the room next to ours. I went into our room and fell onto the bed. Fang sat down next to me.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" he asked me. I looked at him.

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"Well, I was in charge of watching them while you were sleeping. And let them get covered in food."

I grinned at him. "It's no big deal. I'm not really mad about that. I'm just a little stressed out, you know? I mean, these are our kids. When they think of mom and dad, they'll think of us. We have to talk care of them. And love them, I love them with all of my heart, but…what if I mess up? What if I end up being a horrible mother?"

Fang lay down and curled up with me. "Maximum Ride, you will be the best mother in the world. You've already been a mother-like-figure to most of the Flock, right? I mean, you practically raised Angel."

I thought about that. Angel…lovable little girl, tries to take over the Flock from me, kicks me and Fang out, eventually holds a gun up to me, then shoots my father…

"I'm not sure I'm completely happy with that example, Fang."

Fang laughed. I grinned at him again, and then I was laughing too.

**Ok, I'm not entirely pleased with that chapter, but it's ok. I'll try to make the next chapters better. Just bare with me, please. Please review. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Next chapter! If you follow me or something, and you got an email when this story was first published under a different title, I'm sorry about that. I had to change the title, but it sent the alert emails out as the first title I think. Sorry.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride**

**Chapter 2**

**Fang's pov**

It's been two weeks since we brought Ari and Star home from the hospital. It's been a great, if not exhausting two weeks. The entire Flock, and Max's family have been very helpful (minus the one food incident on the first day).

I woke up and rolled over to look at the clock. I sat up. 10:30! I _never_ sleep that late. Max wasn't there, she must have gone downstairs. I dressed as fast as I could and raced downstairs.

I met Iggy in the living room. "Iggy, have you seen Max?" I asked.

Iggy pretended to be offended. "What, that's it? You're not going to say hello?"

I sighed. "Hello Iggy. Now where is my wife, please?"

"In the kitchen with your kids and Dr. Martinez." He replied, grinning slightly.

"Thanks." I hurried to the kitchen.

"He lives." Max said, grinning as she saw me come in.

"Hi. Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked.

"You were up for hours last night with these two-" she nodded at Ari and Star "-so that I could sleep, so I figured I'd return the favor. Besides, we don't have anything to do today anyway."

I had been up for hours last night. She was right; I probably did need the sleep. "Thanks." I kissed her and headed for the fridge. "Good morning, Dr. Martinez."

"Good morning, Fang."

"Where is everyone? I saw Iggy in the other room, but I didn't see anyone else."

"Nudge and Angel went out for a short flight, and Gazzy, Ella, and Jeb went to the store." Max answered.

I nodded in response and walked over to our babies. "Hey, Star." I picked up Star from the baby-chair that she had been sitting in. I kissed her on the forehead and sat down with her so I could eat.

I know I don't seem like the type to get cuddle my kids like that, but I just can't help it. I love Ari and Star. Sometimes I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that these are my kids. Max feels the same way. She keeps worrying that she won't be a good mother, but I know she'll be fine. I'm really more worried about me being a father. I'm not really the loving type, am I?

Max smiled happily at me and Star together. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Nudge and Angel walking in.

"Hey guys." I said.

"Hi Fang." Angel said. "Guess what? You know that meadow not too far from here? Well all of the berries on the bushes are ripe now, the place is full of them!"

Max grinned and looked at me. "We should all go down there and have a picnic! And then we could pick berries and bring them back here and Iggy can make a cake for berry shortcake."

"Did you just volunteer me to make a cake?" Iggy asked as he walked in.

"Yes." Max said.

Iggy thought about it. "Ok, then."

I laughed. "Sounds good to me."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**About 6:00 that night**

I sat down on the couch, tired, holding Ari. We had been at the meadow all day. It had been fun, but now we were all very tired. Ari was asleep in my arms. Angel had carried Star on the way home, and Max was upstairs in the nursery to get her ready for bed.

Dr. Martinez walked in and sat down with me. "How's Ari?" she asked.

"Tired." I said, looking down at him.

Dr. Martinez smiled. "And Star?"

"Max is checking on her."

"Oh."

"Fang!" Max's voice screamed downstairs, full of panic, "Fang, I can't find our daughter!"

Oh, dear god.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

Star was nowhere to be found in the nursery. "Don't worry, Max, I'm sure Angel just has her downstairs." I said, trying to calm Max down, because she was freaking out.

"Right…you're right. Angel!" Max yelled, and we ran to find Angel.

"Angel!" Max gasped when we found her in her bedroom with Nudge. "Where's Star?"

"Uh…why are you asking me? Nudge was taking her." Angel said.

"No, you had her." Nudge said, frowning.

"No I didn't." Angel said.

"Oh no." I moaned.

Max looked ready to faint. I grabbed her arm. "Don't worry Max, it's no big deal. We'll just fly back to the meadow and get her. We'll leave Ari here, and we'll go get her. No problem." I told her.

She stared at me. "Ok, that's a good plan, but if you think that it's no problem, you're crazy!"

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

We flew as fast as our wings could carry us. It was getting darker by the minute. Max was talking very fast as we flew.

"This is what I was worried about! I lost our daughter, Fang, I lost our baby!"

"Max, this was not your fault." I told her.

"Shut up!" she screamed. "I hear something."

After a moment, I heard it to: crying and screaming, like a baby was crying…

"Star!" Max and I yelled at the same moment. We landed, and I saw her still lying on the ground where I had last seen her before we left. Max ran forward and picked her up, hugging her and kissing her. "Oh, my baby, my poor Star, it's alright, mommy and daddy are here."

I joined them, wrapping my arms around both of them. "Let's go home." I whispered.

"Agreed." Max whispered back. We took off and headed back home.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**Late that night**

Ari and Star were both safely in bed (or…crib, whatever), and Max and I were in the kitchen, getting something to eat before we went to bed. Everyone else was asleep. Or, so we thought.

"Max? Fang?" a small voice said from behind us. I turned and saw Angel standing there.

"Hey, sweetie," Max said, surprised "what's up? I thought you were in bed."

"I couldn't sleep. Um, I'm so, so, sorry about Star, I forgot I'd said I would bring her…" she looked ready to cry, and Angel never cries, so I knew she was upset.

"Oh, Angel, it's ok. It was an accident." Max said. She got up and hugged her.

"Yeah, Angel, we know you didn't mean to." I said. "We're not mad at you. Just don't let it happen again."

"I won't." she smiled a little. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Max called after her as she walked away.

Max and I both got up to go to bed. "Quite a day, huh?" I said.

Max groaned. "Let's never speak of this again."

I grinned at her. "Deal."

She smiled back, and leaned in and kissed me.

**What do you think? I'll put up the next chapter as soon as possible. Please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Maximum Ride.**

**Chapter 3**

**Max's pov**

**Six months later**

As it turns out, mutant human-avid hybrid children, even ones who are naturally born and not grown in a test-tube, progress faster than normal children.

Ari and Star were only six months old, but you'd think they were older. They started walking a few weeks ago. They still fell down a lot, but they walked more often than crawled. They could say several simple words. They got into all sorts of trouble.

I finished washing the dishes after lunch. Fang and the rest of the Flock, including Ella, were outside, playing with the twins. I looked out the window at them. Fang saw me and waved.

"Are you going to come join us?" he called.

"In a minute." I called back. I wanted to talk to Jeb first. I had something to ask him.

I found Jeb in the living room, reading a newspaper. "Hey, Jeb?" I said. He looked up.

"Yes, Max?"

"Um, how old do you think Ari and Star will be when they're ready to learn how to fly?" I asked. I figured he would know, seeing as he helped create us.

He thought about it. "I'd say…probably around now. I mean, their wings are a good size and everything. They'll have to be taught, of course."

"Of course." I nodded and ran out the door. "Thanks Jeb!" I yelled behind me.

I met up with the others outside.

"Mama!" Ari cried when he saw me. I picked him up and hugged him.

"Hey Ari. Are you having fun? Is daddy playing nice?" I said, glancing teasingly at Fang. He just rolled his eyes at me.

"Yeah!" Ari said.

"Good." I put him down. "I need to talk to you for a minute." I said to Fang. He nodded. We walked off to the side, where we could talk. I told him about what Jeb had said. "What do you think?" I asked. "Should we try to teach them?"

Fang nodded. "Definitely. We can start now, they still have plenty of energy, and the rest of the Flock can help."

"Agreed." We went back to the others.

Five minutes later, I was trying to explain the process of flapping your wings to Ari and Star.

"See? Back and forth…back and forth…good." I approved.

Star giggled happily as she flapped her wings slowly. She loved watching us fly, they both did, and I could tell they loved the idea of flying, just like us.

"Now, we're going to hold on to you, and I want you to try to flap while in the air. I promise we won't let go." I said.

I held onto Star, Fang held on to Ari, Ella stood down on the sidelines to cheer them on, and Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel were flying around us to help. I took off with Star. "Now, try to flap, sweetie. Good!" I cried as she started to flap her wings. I kissed the top of her head. I looked over at Ari and Fang. Ari was doing a good job, too.

I'm not sure how long we flew like that, but it was for quite a while. I glanced at Fang. He nodded. Slowly, I let go of Star, hovering right underneath her to catch her if she fell. Fang did the same for Ari.

They both continued to fly, without our help. "Star!" I cried. "You're flying! You too, Ari!"

Star giggled happily. After a minute, she did fall, but I was right underneath her and caught her. I held her in my arms and landed. I heard clapping and cheering. I looked over and saw that my mom and Jeb had come out and joined Ella, and now they were cheering for the twins.

"Way to go!" Jeb called.

"Good job!" my mom said.

"You were amazing, Star!" Ella cried.

I kissed Star again. "Aunt Ella is right, Star, you were amazing. I think that's enough practice for today, though." I put her down, and looked up in the sky, where Fang and Ari were still flying. About a minute later, they came down too.

"Great job, Ari." Fang said as he set Ari on the ground.

The Flock landed next to us. "They're naturals!" Nudge said excitedly.

"You should be proud." Angel said quietly.

I looked at my babies, playing and laughing on the ground. "We are." I said.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**Later that day**

I was walking home from the store. I had to get some emergency groceries for dinner. I just wanted to get to where no one would see me take off, and then I would fly the rest of the way home.

I slipped behind a building, and headed toward some trees where I could take off.

I shifted the bags in my arms and was about to fly when I heard a voice say, "Max."

I whirled around. I didn't see anyone. "I must have imagined it." I muttered. I was always jumpy like that.

But then someone said, "Hello, Max." I turned around again, and this time I saw someone. I dropped the bags, and food spilled all over the ground, but I didn't care. I was too focused on who I was staring at, because there was no way this could be happening to me.

"Dylan?"

***dramatic music* Dylan is back. More of that in the next chapter. I did my research, by the way: most children start walking and talking at one year old, so Ari and Star, who grow fast, do it at six months. Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I am sorry for the evil cliffhanger in the last chapter. But it just sort of had to be done. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride**

**Chapter 4**

**Max's pov**

"Dylan?" I said, stunned.

Dylan stepped forward, smiling. "Hi, Max. It's good to see you."

"Is it? Because I would honestly much rather see anyone else in the whole world right now." I snapped, recovering from the shock.

"You don't mean that." Dylan said.

"Oh, yes I do!" I slapped him in the face. He blinked, surprised.

"But, Max-"

"Leave me alone! I never liked you, and I still don't!"

He just stood there for a moment. Then he said, "Can I come home with you?"

"No dam way! You are staying here! Besides," I grinned "If you come anywhere near our house, Fang will probably beat you to a pulp."

I took off without another word. A few minutes later, however, I turned around and saw that the idiot was following me. "Oh no," I said under my breath, "You are not going to ruin my life _again_!"

I flew over to him. "Go away!" I screamed.

"No!" he yelled back at me.

"Fine, but at your own risk!" I flew as fast as I could and landed right in front of our house. Dylan landed behind me. I ran into the house. "Fang!" I screamed. "Fang!"

Fang hurried into the room. "God, Max, what are you screaming about? Where's the food? What…" and then he saw Dylan.

Fang lunged at Dylan and jumped on top of him, and within seconds was beating him up. Dylan cried out in pain as Fang easily won their fight.

"Max!" Dylan spluttered "Help…me!"

"Sorry," I said, rolling my eyes, "but I can't do that. And anyway, I warned you!"

Everyone else, having heard the screaming and punching and yelling in pain, came into the room. My mom had Ari in her arms, and Angel was holding Star.

"What is going on here?" Angel cried.

"What have you done to our living room?" Jeb demanded, looking around at the mess Fang and Dylan had made.

"Dylan?" Nudge yelled.

Iggy and Gazzy ran over and pulled Fang and Dylan apart.

My mom walked over and set Ari gently on the ground, and put her hands on her hips. "Would somebody please explain what is going on here?"

"Dylan has decided he came just march back into our lives like he never left, and Fang and I have something to say about that." I said.

"Then why couldn't you just say it, instead of destroying our house?" Mom asked.

"Because Fang has earned to right to beat Dylan up." I said calmly.

"Thank you, Max." Fang said.

Dylan groaned. "You nearly killed me!"

"Yeah, _nearly _being the key word in that sentence." Fang said, glaring at him.

"Look, Max, give me another chance, please." Dylan begged, turning to me. "I came back because I couldn't get you out of my mind. I'm still in love with you. Give me another chance, and I'll prove to you that I love you. Please."

I marched up to him angrily. "Look, Dylan, I've told you over and over, the answer is no! Furthermore, you're a couple years late!" I waved my hand in front of his face. "Do you know what that is?"

It was the wedding ring Fang gave me when he proposed. It was a cheap ring, and the diamond was fake, but we didn't care, it was perfect for us. "I got married, you idiot. And I'm happy with Fang."

Dylan looked shocked. "I…well…"

I turned and picked up Ari. "Come on, baby, I'll get you and your sister some food…oh, wait, we don't have any food, that's why I went to the store…and we still don't have any food, and whose fault it that?" I glared at Dylan again.

Dylan, however, was staring at Ari. "Wait, baby? He's not your…is he?"

"Yes, Dylan," Fang said before I could reply, "That is our son, Ari. And this," he took Star from Angel's arms, "Is our daughter, Star. This is our family. And you're not in it." He turned and walked over to me and Ari.

Dylan looked desperately from me to Fang to the others and back to me. Finally, he looked at Jeb. "Jeb please let me stay. If I promise not to try to be with Max, and to leave her family alone, can I stay? I don't have anywhere else to go."

I gave Jab my best, "don't you dare" look. He hesitated, and then said, "You can stay, Dylan."

"What?" Fang and I both screamed.

"Thank you, Jeb." Dylan said.

I set down Ari and grabbed Jeb's arm. "I need to speak to you in private." I growled, and pulled him up to me bedroom.

"What the he-ck is this about?" I yelled, remembering at the last minute that I had promised myself I would keep watching my language.

"Max-"

"You don't have any right to let him in here! What about my family?"

"Max-"

"Don't push me, Jeb, I only barely agreed to let you stay here. Dylan drove Fang out once, what if-" my voice cracked, as I finished the thought "What if he does it again?"

"Max," Jeb said, "I happen to know that Fang loves you, and he loves Ari and Star. He won't leave just because of Dylan. And remember, Dylan is one of you."

"He's not one of-"I began angrily, but he cut me off.

"I don't mean one of the Flock, I mean a bird-kid, like you. He needs help. We should help him."

I sighed and crossed my arms. "Fine. But don't expect me or Fang to be nice to him. And if he puts one toe out of line, he's gone."

"Fair enough." Jeb said, and walked out of the room.

I stood in the middle of my room silently. After a minute, Fang walked in. "So he's staying." He said quietly.

I nodded, looking at the floor.

He looked at me. "Max, are you ok?"

"I'm fine." I whispered.

"No you aren't. What's wrong?"

I looked up and met his eyes. "Promise me you won't leave me again. Promise me you won't let Dylan drive you out. I can't go through that again, Fang. Please." I felt tears run down my cheeks.

Fang wrapped his arms around me. "I promise, Max. I'm with you for good. And nothing, not even Dylan, is going to drive me away."

**Sorry it took me longer to get this online. I've been busy, and then I had some computer problems. I'll try to go back to posting regularly. **


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm so sorry. Please forgive me for another long gap between updates. I've had a lot of work to do for school, and I haven't had a break to work on writing in ages.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride. If I did, Dylan would have already had an extremely painful death, if he existed at all.**

**Fang's pov**

**The next morning**

I rolled over and opened my eyes. I looked at the clock next to the bed. 7:30. I sat up slowly. Max was still asleep next to me. I sat and watched her for a moment before sneaking out of bed.

I looked in the nursery. Star was standing up in her crib, looking through the bars. "Dada!" she giggled.

"Hey, Star." I smiled and walked over to pick her up. I looked over and saw that Ari's crib was empty. I frowned. "Where's your brother, Star?" I asked my daughter, looking around the room. Maybe he had crawled out…or had finally mastered use of his wings…

After a minute of searching, it was clear that Ari was not in the nursery. I was slightly worried. The last thing Max needed was something else to worry about. I knew she was worried about Dylan living here again. I didn't want her to have to worry about our kids, too.

I hurried downstairs, still holding Star. I entered the living room and called, "Has anybody seen-"I broke off as I saw Dylan, sitting on the couch with Ari on his lap.

I put Star down. "Get your hands of my son!" I said coldly.

Dylan just looked at me. "I'm not hurting him or anything. We're playing."

I snatched Ari from him. "You will not touch my children! You will leave my family alone."

Dylan sighed. "Look, I'm not trying to mess up your family. I can see you guys are happy, and I won't ruin that. I just want Max to be happy."

I glared at him and turned away. As I did so, I heard him mumble, "Of course, why she's happy with you, I can't imagine…"

I turned back around to face him. "What did you say?" I asked in my best you're-going-to-die voice.

Dylan stood up. "I'm just saying that I don't understand why she wants to be with you. You _left_ her. You left her, and she was miserable about it. You nearly broke her. I don't know why she trusts you. Who's to say you won't rip her heart out again, and this time leave her with two kids to take care of?"

I put Ari back on the ground by Star and grabbed Dylan by his shirt collar. "You…will…shut…up…_now_." I growled, emphasizing each word. "I love Max, I love Ari and Star, and nothing, not even you, can drive me away. And if you try, I will personally-"

"Fang, put him down!" somebody said sharply. I let go of Dylan and turned to see Jeb standing in the doorway.

"Sorry, Jeb." I said quietly.

"Maybe you should take a short flight, and cool off." Jeb said sternly.

I nodded and jumped out the window. I had to clear my head. I had to release my anger. Or I'm going to do something I'll regret.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**Max's pov**

I walked into the living room, and the first thing I heard was, "Mama!"

I turned and saw both Ari and Star sitting and playing with their toys on the floor. "Hey, babies. Mommy's going to get some breakfast, then I'll play with you, ok?"

"Ok, Mama!"

I smiled and went into the kitchen, where I found Angel, Nudge, and Mom eating breakfast.

"Good morning, Max." Angel said.

"Morning, Angel." I responded. "Have any of you guys seen Fang?"

"I think he went for a short flight." Nudge told me.

"He did." Mom said "Jeb told him to go fly around and cool off. Apparently he had some kind of argument with Dylan this morning."

"Oh." I groaned, and sunk into a chair. _Just great. I knew this would happen._

"Don't worry, Max." Angel said. "Dylan's only planning to stay for a little while. Then your lives with go back to normal."

I looked at her. "I hope you're right, Angel."

"I'm always right." Angel replied, grinning.

Nudge laughed. "Yeah, right."

Just then, Fang came in through the window. "Good morning."

"Fang!" I jumped up and hugged him.

"Um, hi, Max." he said. He looked around. "Did something happen while I was gone?"

"Nope." Nudge said. "She's just glad to see you."

I pulled away from Fang. "Sorry…did I scare you?"

"No…you just don't usually do that. It was weird."

"Oh."

Ari walked in. "Dada!"

"Hi Ari." Fang picked him up. "Are you being good for your mom?"

Ari nodded.

"Good." Fang said. I smiled. Maybe Angel was right. Maybe everything would be fine. Maybe nothing could tear us apart again.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"MY FAULT? HOW IS THIS MY FAULT?"

"WE NEVER SHOULD HAVE LET YOU STAY HERE! MAX AND I DIDN'T WANT YOU HERE, JEB WANTED YOU TO STAY! I CAN MAKE YOU LEAVE IF I THINK YOU'RE A DANGER TO MY FAMILY!"

This was what greeted me when I walked into the house after going to the grocery store for the second day in a row. This time, the food got home.

"What is going on?" I cried as I went into the kitchen. Iggy and Ella were sitting at the table, covering their ears.

"Fang and Dylan." Ella groaned.

"They've been at it almost the entire time you were gone." Iggy said.

"Can't you do something to shut them up?" Ella asked.

"I can try." I sighed. "Where are Ari and Star?"

"Fang had them!" Iggy said.

"So he's yelling at Dylan and taking care of our children at the same time?" I asked, running my hand through my hair nervously.

"Yes." Iggy and Ella both said at the same time.

"Oh my God." I said. I shoved the bags of food at Ella and turned around. "I have to save my kids."

I found Fang and Dylan in the nursery. They were still shouting.

"OUR LIVES WERE GOING FINE UNTIL YOU SHOWED UP AND RUINED EVERYTHING!" Fang yelled. "BOTH TIMES!"

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT I WAS MADE TO BE IN LOVE WITH MAX, FANG!" Dylan yelled back.

"IF YOU REALLY LOVED MAX, YOU'D LEAVE HER FAMILY ALONE, BECAUSE SHE'S HAPPY! IF YOU REALLY LOVED HER, YOU'D LEAVE!" Fang shouted.

"WELL-"

"HEY!" I screamed, flying above their heads to get their attention. "What is going on here? I could hear you shouting before I got inside the house!"

"He started it." Dylan said, pointing at Fang.

"I did not!" Fang cried defensively. "You start-"

"Stop it!" I shrieked. "You are acting like little kids, both of you!"

They fell silent. "Sorry, Max." Fang said quietly.

"Now where are Star and Ari?" I asked, clenching my fists.

Fang pointed, and I saw they were both in their cribs. I picked them both up. "They're shaking." I said. "You scared them with your screaming."

"Max, I'm sorry-"Fang began.

"Save it." I said angrily, and left the room.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**That night**

I was sitting in the kitchen with my mom, Gazzy, and Nudge. Ari and Star were in bed. I had no idea where anyone else was. I hadn't spoken to Fang or Dylan since that afternoon.

"Max, you should go to bed. You look exhausted." Mom said.

"No." I shook my head. "I'm not tired."

Nudge sat down next to me. "I talked to Fang. He's really sorry, Max. Go talk to him."

"I knew this would happen. Dylan drove him away before, and he's going to do it again." I blinked back tears.

"Fang would never leave you and Ari and Star." Gazzy told me.

"Max?" I looked up and saw Dylan standing in the doorway. He had a large bag on his shoulder.

"What do you want?" I asked coldly. "Come to ruin my life in another way?"

"No. I've just come to tell you that I'm leaving."

That caught my attention. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah. I can see that I'm just getting in the way of your life here with Fang and Ari and Star. I don't want to pull you and Fang apart. I know you guys are fighting right now, and I know it's because of me. I never meant to hurt you guys. Any of you."

I stood up. "Thanks. It means a lot that you would leave just to make me happy. Where will you go?"

He shrugged. "I'll figure it out."

I gave him a hug. He seemed surprised, but I can't blame him. "You're ok, Dylan."

He grinned. "Thanks. Bye, Max."

"Bye, Dylan." I said. He climbed out the window and flew away. Because God forbid any of us use the door like normal people.

Nudge looked at me. "I think that solved your problem, Max."

"Yeah…I'll be back." I ran out of the room and found Fang sitting with Iggy, Jeb, Angel, and Ella. I went right up to him and kissed him.

"Uh…hi, baby." Fang said. "Look, I'm sorry about this afternoon, I don't know what happened."

"Forget it." I said. I sat next to him and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Dylan's gone, then?" Angel asked me.

"Yes. No more yelling." I said happily.

"Yay." Everyone else said. Fang looked offended.

"It wasn't that bad…was it?"

"It was pretty bad, sorry, Fang." I said.

Fang pushed me playfully. "We should check on Ari and Star."

"Yeah." I agreed, standing up. He stood up too, and we headed upstairs.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**Fang's pov**

Max and I quietly walked into the nursery. Star's crib is closest to the door. Max checked on her. "She's asleep." She whispered.

I went over to Ari's crib on the other side of the room. I knew instantly something was wrong. I could sense it. I reached into the crib.

"Fang, what are you doing, you're going to wake him up!" Max hissed.

"Max," I said, trying to keep my voice calm. "He's not here."

"What?" She stood next to me. She reached into the crib. "Oh my God."

She ran over and turned on the light. She screamed. Ari wasn't in his crib.

"Don't worry, he wasn't there this morning either, he probably just climbed out." I said, leaving out the part about it being Dylan taking him out in the morning. Then I noticed something. There was a note. I picked it up.

"Ari can't write, Fang." Max said, as everyone else in the house came running into the room.

"We heard screaming." Iggy said.

"What happened?" Dr. Martinez asked.

"Fang, read the note." Max told me.

I looked at the note and read:

_ "I have your son. I don't want money, and I know you don't have any, anyway. I just want your child. You're never going to see your son again, Maximum Ride. I'm going to make sure of it. If you call the police, or try to get him back yourselves, than the Ari dies."_

I gulped and put the note down. "It's not signed."

Max fainted. Jeb caught her before she hit the ground. Star had woken up and was screaming. Angel picked her up. I ran over to Max.

They had Ari. My son. This person, whoever they were, had my son.

"Who could have done it?" Nudge gasped. "Only a few people even know you guys have kids!"

"Dylan." I whispered. "He knows. He just left."

"Of course." Ella whispered.

I picked Max up and carried her to our room. I laid her down on the bed, and sat down next to her.

I should be making plans. And I would. I would find him. But first I broke down sobbing. I loved Ari. He was in danger. And it hurt Max so much that she was now unconscious on the bed.

What were we going to do?

**Ari is gone! How will they get him back? And was it Dylan who took him? Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride.**

**Fang's pov**

After I had calmed myself down, I went to the living room, where I found everyone else, minus Max (she hadn't woken up yet after fainting before). Angel had Star on her lap.

"Fang!" Dr. Martinez said when I walked in. "Are you ok? How's Max?"

"Max hasn't woken up yet, but I think she'll be fine. As for me, I'll be fine as soon as we find Ari." I said.

Dr. Martinez nodded. Ella said, "Come sit. We've been talking about what to do next."

I nodded and sat down. "So, what have you got?"

Angel looked at me and said, "Ok, so we've been thinking, and…it has to be Dylan. No one else outside this room knows that you and Max had children. He also had motive. He's mad at you, and at Max, and I could tell he liked playing with Ari this morning, so it makes sense that he would kidnap him as his revenge. Plus, it was right after he left that you discovered Ari was gone."

"So it was Dylan." A voice from behind me said. I turned around and saw Max standing in the doorway. She was crying. I stood up and ran over to her.

"Max." I whispered. I hugged her tightly. "It's going to be ok."

"It was Dylan?" she repeated.

"Yes." Angel said after a moment.

"It was Dylan." She repeated. She walked with me back to the couch. She glared at Jeb. "This is all your fault." She said. "We didn't want him to stay, but you let him stay and now he's kidnapped my son. I told you he was going to hurt my family, and he did. You just had to let him stay, didn't you?" she yelled.

"Max, calm down, please." I said.

"I love my family!" she yelled. "I love Fang, I love Star," at this she picked up Star off Angel's lap "And I love Ari!"

"Max!" I yelled. "You need to calm down. We're going to find Ari, I promise. Dylan can't have gotten far. We're going to find him before he can do anything to Ari. You just need to calm down."

She took a deep breath. "You're right." She said. "Sorry."

We sat down, and the meeting continued. "We have to get Ari back," Angel said, "But how? In the note, it said he would kill Ari if we tried to save him."

"We have to be discreet." Ella said. "If he doesn't know we're coming, he won't hurt Ari."

"But Dylan knows all of our tricks." Gazzy pointed out.

"Then we make new tricks." Dr. Martinez said.

"Dr. Martinez is right." Nudge said. "We just have to think of something that we've never done before. Something he won't be expecting."

"Like what?" Angel asked.

"Ari?" Star gurgled. I looked at her, startled. She was sitting in Max's lap, and was looking around curiously.

"Don't worry, Star." I said. "We'll find your brother."

"Ari!" Star repeated. Then she started to cry. Max cradled her in her arms.

"Shh, baby, it's ok, you're alright." Max whispered.

"Ari." Star whimpered. Max looked sadly at me.

"She misses her brother." Max said. "She's a smart girl, she knows something's wrong, and she misses Ari. It's the sweetest thing, and yet it's heartbreaking."

Nudge handed Max Stars' favorite toy, a teddy bear with wings like hers that Jeb had given her. Max gave it to Star, who clutched it to her chest. Even I almost cried.

"Ok." I said. "We need a plan, and we need it as soon as possible."

"Agreed." Dr. Martinez said, looking at Star again.

"Right, plan." Angel said. "So…what's the plan?"

"What if we split up, and try to intercept Dylan in several different ways? That way if one fails, he'll try to do something else, and we'll be waiting for him again." Iggy suggested.

"But if he sees even one plan to try and save Ari, he'll kill him." Dr. Martinez pointed out.

"Oh." Iggy said, looking disappointed. "Right."

"Come on, guys, think." Angel said. "We just have to be creative. And no, Ella, that won't work." She added, looking at Ella, who blushed and muttered something about mind readers.

We all sat silently for a moment. Suddenly Max sat up straighter. "That's it."

"What?" I asked. She had that look on her face. The genius evil idea look she used to give me all the time.

"Ok, we have to find out where Dylan is. Once we find him, I give him a phone call. I pretend I don't even suspect him. I'm calling because Fang and I broke up, Fang left me when Ari disappeared, and I've realized I'm in love with him, not Fang. I beg him to meet me somewhere; somewhere I can see him alone. When he gets there, I'm waiting for him, and you guys are hiding. Once his guard is down, you guys jump out and we get him. Then we force him to tell us where Ari is."

"What do we do with him once we find Ari?" Ella asked. Max shrugged.

"I don't know. We'll figure that out later."

"That's a good plan." Angel said. "I say we try it."

"Agreed." I said, and everyone else nodded.

"But first we have to find him." Ella reminded us.

"Oh yeah." I said, my excitement dropping. If we couldn't find him-

"Uh," Jeb said. "That might not be as hard as you think."

Max looked at him suspiciously. "Why?"

"Well…he took a bag from here, right? I have…tracker chips in all of our bags…and water bottles…and blankets…"

Max looked furious. "You_ track us_?"

"I've never used them!" Jeb said defensively. "But we could use them now to find Dylan."

Max clenched her fists. "Fine. Since it's going to help us this time, I'll let it slide. But if I ever get a reason to believe you're spying on us-"

"Yes, yes, I know." Jeb said, getting up. "You'll kick me out."

"I was going to say kill you, but whatever."

"Just get the tracking equipment." Iggy yelled.

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

**Still Fang's pov**

Jeb had been on the computer for over an hour. Max was still holding Star, who was now sleeping. Star was really very sweet looking while asleep. Not that she wasn't cute when she was awake…

Max kept rubbing her head, like she had a headache, which worried me a little, since bad things seem to happen to Max when she gets headaches (reference: the voice). I sat down next to her. "Are you ok?" I asked, taking her hand and running my own hand through her hair.

She looked at me. "It's funny, you know. When Dylan showed up again, I thought for sure I was going to lose you. I didn't think I'd lose a different member of my family."

That was enough. I hated seeing her like this. I had to do something. I gently picked up Star and lay her on the couch, then pulled Max up. I kissed her deeply, then pulled away. "Hit me."

She blinked, then stared at me. "I beg your pardon?"

"You're losing it, Maximum. What happened to Maximum Ride, the fighter, the leader of the flock? Get yourself back. We're never going to save Ari if you're acting like a wimpy little girl with a broken wing! This isn't the girl I married…" and idea sparked in my head, something that would make her mad enough "Maybe this isn't the girl I want." Her eyes narrowed. "That's right, maybe I don't want the weak Max! Maybe Dylan was right, I should just-"I was cut off as she punched me, knocking to the ground with the force. I managed to stand up, avoiding the kick she aimed at me. She threw another punch, hitting me in the arm. I swung back, and she deflected it and kicked me in the ribs. I stumbled back and fell into a table, shattering a lamp and creating a huge crack. We just stared at each other for a moment. "And that," I finally said "Is the girl I married."

She helped me up. "Sorry about that," she muttered, "It looked kind of painful."

"Shut up." I kissed her again.

We didn't pull away until we heard Jeb yell, "Got it!"

"You found Dylan?" we all gathered around Jeb's computer.

"He's nearby." Jeb said. "He appears to have stopped at a cheap hotel a few miles away."

"Is there some way we can contact him?" Dr. Martinez asked.

"Yes…Nudge, I'll need your help."

"Ok. What do you need me to do?"

"Can you hack into the hotel computer and find out how we can reach the phone in Dylan's room directly?"

"Um…probably…let me see." She sat down in Jeb's spot and leaned over the computer.

I looked at Max. Her eyes were full of excitement, but there was something else. The determination that always used to be there was back. I hadn't seen it in the past few hours, but it was there now.

Maximum Ride was back.

"Got it!" Nudge cried. "There's the number, Max."

"Thanks, Nudge." Max grabbed a notepad from the table and scribbled the number down. "I'm going to call him from the pay phone nearby, so he doesn't try to track the call and finds I'm still here. I'll be back in a few minutes." She spread her wings and jumped straight out the window.

Iggy grinned to himself. "She was using her I'm-gonna-kick-someone's-butt voice. Dylan doesn't stand a chance."

Angel smiled and nodded. "Was she like that when I was kidnapped?"

"Yes." Was the immediate response from the rest of the flock.

Nudge looked at me. "Did that fight hurt?"

I grimaced. "A little. But hey, I'd be worried if it hadn't. This is Max we're talking about."

"Agreed." Nudge said. "If Star has her talent when they get older, Ari's in for it."

And I had to laugh at that.

**Sorry for the gap between chapters. I was on vacation for a month, without a computer. Find out if their plan works in the next chapter! Please review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I just want to say thank you for all the reviews. This story seems to have been a big hit. I always have fun writing this, and I'm glad everybody likes reading it. Here's the next chapter.**

**Max's pov**

I reached the phone and dialed as fast as I could. "Pick up, pick up." I hissed.

And he did. "Um, hello? Is this the front desk or something?"

"Dylan!" I cried, hoping I sounded distressed and upset.

"Max? What…why…how did you get this number?"

"Um, that's not important! Listen, Dylan, something awful has happened."

"What? What's happened, Max?"

"Ari…someone kidnapped Ari!"

"Oh no…are you ok, Max?" I have to hand it to the guy: he actually sounded concerned. Could've been an actor.

"No…it gets worse, Dylan. After we found out Ari was gone…Fang dumped me."

"Oh, Max, I'm so, so sorry."

"I should have listened to you, Dylan. I have to see you, can you meet me?"

"Yes, I'll meet you, I'm not far." He sounded thrilled. Jerk.

"Meet me in the thick bunch of trees that you found me in the other day, when I was coming home from the store. You know the place, right?"

"Yeah, I remember. I'll be there in an hour."

"Perfect. I'll see you then." I hung up, and punched the air. "Moron!" I had to get back to the flock, and we'd set up our trap.

**000000ooooooo0000000**

**Still Max's pov**

I hurried inside the house. All the others were waiting. "Well?" Iggy asked.

"He bought it." I said. "He's such an idiot. He's meeting me in an hour. You guys have to be ready."

"We'll be ready." Nudge said.

"What do you need us to do?" Angel asked.

"He's going to meet me in the thick bunch of trees I found him in the other day. There are plenty of shadows for you guys to hide in."

"Sounds good." Ella said.

"We should go set up." Fang said. "We've only got an hour."

"Fang is right." Jeb said. "We should go."

**1 hour later**

I was waiting for Dylan, who would be there any minute. The others, except for my mom, who had stayed home with Star, were hiding, waiting to pounce.

I spotted him in the sky. "Here he comes." I said. I watched as he landed in front of me.

"Max." Dylan said, coming toward me.

"Dylan." I said, giving a fake, yet convincing, sob. "Oh, Dylan, thank god you're here. I need you."

"I'm here for you." Dylan said. He hugged me, and I had to fight not to pull away. This guy had kidnapped my son. My baby. I hated him.

"Ari's gone." I whispered.

"I know." Dylan said. "Do you have any leads at all?"

"One." I said honestly. "The others are working on it."

"That's good." Dylan said. "Are you going to be ok?"

"I will be now that you're here." I forced myself to say. I really do hate this guy.

"I'm here for you, Max." Dylan said. He leaned forward as if to kiss me. I put up my hand.

"Dylan, wait." I said. He stopped. "I need you to do something first."

"Anything." Dylan said breathlessly.

"Now!" I yelled. Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, Jeb, and Ella all jumped out of the trees. Dylan looked up, startled, and Ella jumped onto his head. Angel grabbed his ankles, and he fell over into the sack that Fang was holding. Fang tossed the sack to Gazzy who held it while Iggy tied it closed with rope (how the blind guy tied a knot, I have no idea). "Good work." I said.

"Thanks." Nudge replied. "We haven't gotten to do anything like that for a while. It was kind of fun."

Jeb took the sack containing Dylan from Gazzy. "Come on, let's get him back to the house."

**0000000ooooooo0000000**

We tied Dylan to a chair in the kitchen. "What now?" Angel asked.

"We get him to tell us what he did with Ari." I said. "And we don't leave him alone until he cracks."

"He still has the sack over his head." Ella said, looking at Dylan.

Fang walked over and pulled the sack off of his head. Dylan gasped for air. "You nearly suffocated me with that thing!"

"I'm trying to care, Dylan, but I just can't." I said.

"Max, what is this about?" Dylan asked angrily.

I lost my temper. "You know damn well what it's about! You kidnapped my son!"

"_What?_ No I didn't!"

"Yes you did."

"Max." Angel said quietly, but I ignored her.

"You took him from me. You took Ari, and you are going to tell me where he is, and then you are going to pay for taking him." I said.

"I swear Max, I didn't take him!"

"Max." Angel said again.

I ran forward and grabbed Dylan by the collar of his shirt. "Tell me what you did with him!"

Angel stepped forward and pulled me off of Dylan. Fang came up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Calm down, it's going to be alright." He whispered in my ear.

Angel met my eyes. "He's telling the truth. He didn't take Ari."

_"__No,__no,__he__must__have__taken__him.__"_ I thought. _"__I__don__'__t__know__where__else__to__turn.__"_

"But if Dylan didn't take Ari," Ella said, "Then who did?"

Angel shook her head. "I don't know."

Trembling with anger, I punched through the window. The glass cut my hand, but I didn't feel the pain. "I know." I said.

I locked eyes with Fang. I knew he was thinking the same thing. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Deep down I think I knew from the beginning." I said. "I just didn't want it to be true."

"I'm confused." Nudge said. "Who took Ari?"

I shared looks with Fang and then Angel, who could hear our idea. Then I looked out the now broken window. "The School." I said. I didn't look at them but I could imagine the terrified looks on their faces. I turned away from the window and started out of the kitchen. "We leave at dawn."

**Please review!  
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